Hamza
by suzie2b
Summary: Charley and Tully meet Hassan's brother-in-law.
**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Hamza**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **It was getting late and while Tully waited for Charley to finish her shower, he stripped down to his boxers. He dropped his dirty shirt and socks into the laundry basket, then folded his pants to wear the next day.**

 **Charley had just gotten out of the shower and was toweling off when she heard the doorknob rattle as it turned. A hinge squeaked as the door opened. She turned expecting it to be Tully, but instead saw a dark, bearded face with wide, round eyes staring at her.**

 **Tully heard Charley scream and was out the door in a flash. Down the hall he saw an Arab backing quickly out of the bathroom. Then he saw Charley holding a towel to shield her naked body as she swung her hairbrush at the man and yelled, "Гет оут! Хов даре ёу! Tully!"**

 **The man turned and saw Tully running at him. "Плеасе! И ам сорры!" He fled outside and down the stairs.**

 **Tully started to follow, but was met by Hassan coming up the stairs. He reached out to stop Tully and quickly said, "Please! Private Pettigrew, please stop! This is my brother-in-law."**

 **Tully stared hard at the man at the bottom of the stairs and growled, "What the heck was he doing up here? Charley was taking a shower when he walked in on her!"**

 **Hassan looked concerned as he said, "Please allow me to explain."**

 **Tully's eyes shifted to his landlord. "I'm listening."**

" **Hamza used to live up here … where you and Charley are living now. When he left here Lila and I did not expect him to return. I only know he is here now because I was working late on the books, heard Charley scream, and came to investigate. Hamza didn't know we'd rented the apartment out to someone."**

 **From the bottom of the stairs they heard Hamza say, "Плеасе. И ам сорры."**

 **Hassan implored, "He is sorry. He did not know there was anyone here. It won't happen again. This is a promise I make to you."**

 **Tully asked, "Did you change the lock on our door before we moved in?"**

" **No … but consider it done. I will be here first thing…"**

" **No, Hassan. That's okay. I'll take care of it myself." Tully glared down at Hamza. "But I swear, if I ever see him anywhere near here again…"**

" **Do not worry, Private Pettigrew. I will explain to him that he cannot live here anymore." Tully gave a curt nod and Hassan said, "Thank you. We will leave now. Please give Charley my apologies." And with that Hassan hurried down the stairs and dragged his brother-in-law away as he spoke to him in Arabic.**

 **Tully went back inside. He looked around for Charley, but she was nowhere to be seen. He took her robe off the hook in the bathroom and quickly headed for their apartment.**

 **Once inside, Tully locked the door. He knew where she was hiding and called quietly, "Everything's all right now. You can come out."**

 **Charley pushed the curtain aside and stepped out of the closet. She was clutching the towel around her with one hand and the hairbrush in the other. Her still wet hair dripped on her shoulders and down her back.**

 **If circumstances had been different Tully would've laughed at the sight. Instead he tossed the robe on the bed and went to her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her shaking body against him.**

 **Charley put her arms around him. "Who was he?"**

 **Tully replied, "Hassan's brother-in-law. He apparently has returned unexpectedly and didn't know that the apartment had been rented out." He gently took the towel from around her and began to dry her hair. "It was an accident and Hassan promises it won't happen again." Tully moved the towel and kissed the top of her head. "You okay?"**

 **Charley looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Yeah. Why don't you go get your shower now? I'll be all right."**

 **Tully handed her the towel and led her to the bed. Charley crawled in and leaned back on the headboard as he said, "I'll only be a few minutes."**

 **Tully shut the door and Charley heard him lock it. She sighed and began to brush her hair.**

 **In the wee hours of the morning Charley sat up in bed with a start and shouted, "No!"**

 **Tully quickly turned the lamp on. Charley was staring at the door, her breaths coming in great gasps and sweat beaded on her face and body. He turned her face gently so she would look at him.**

 **Charley blinked several times, as if she was just waking up. "What happened?"**

 **Tully wiped sweat off her face with his hands. "I was going to ask you the same thing."**

 **Charley took a deep breath. "Bad dream."**

 **Tully put his pillow against the headboard and leaned back, taking Charley into his arms. He could feel her heart racing. "Tell me about it."**

 **Charley pressed herself against him. "I was alone in bed. I woke up and saw the shadow of a man standing by the door. I could see his eyes … wide and bright in the darkness. I was so scared all I could do was stare back at him. And then he took a couple steps and leaped onto the bed."**

 **Tully pulled the covers up over them both. "What happened next?"**

 **Charley wrapped her arm around his middle. "I woke up and was looking at you."**

 **As he hugged her, Tully said quietly, "After what happened with Hassan's brother-in-law, I'm not surprised you had a nightmare."**

 **############################**

 **The next day, while Charley was making her morning deliveries, Tully purchased two deadbolt locks from the PX. When Charley returned to meet him for lunch, Tully was finishing up installing one of the locks on the bathroom door.**

 **Charley smiled. "But what if I want to join you in the shower and you've locked yourself in?"**

 **Tully chuckled. "The keys will always be within reach."**

 **They went into the apartment and Charley hung her satchel on a hook in the closet. "Are we ready to go to lunch?"**

 **Tully placed the keys to the bathroom on a shelf. "In a minute. Where's your door key?" Charley produced it from one of her pants pocket. He took it and gave her the new one. "There are only two keys and we each have one. Not even Hassan has a key to this place now."**

 **Charley sighed. "It never bothered me before, but I have to admit I'm relieved after what happened last night."**

" **Yeah, me too. Especially since I have to go out on patrol for a couple of days starting tomorrow."**

 **############################**

 **Charley had breakfast the next morning with Tully and the rest of guys. They related what had happened and how Tully had put new locks on the doors.**

 **Moffitt said seriously, "Well, at least you were there when it happened, Tully. Who knows what would've happened if Charley was alone."**

 **Charley smiled. "Yeah, I might've had to kill him with my hairbrush."**

 **Hitch grinned. "A hairbrush is a good weapon. A girl I was dating once got mad at me and hit me with her brush. Those bristles drew blood."**

 **Tully said, "Hassan and Lila promised to keep their eyes on Hamza. I'm still not sure I trust that guy."**

 **Charley finished her coffee. "Well, between the hairbrush and my pistol, I'm sure I'll be fine."**

 **Troy said, "You could go talk to Captain Boggs. Maybe get a couple of guards to keep an eye on things tonight."**

" **Thank you, but that won't be necessary."**

 **Troy nodded and stood up. "We'd better get going. See you tomorrow, Charley."**

 **As Moffitt and Hitch got up, Tully leaned in for a kiss. "Just keep your eyes open if you see Hamza around."**

 **Charley nodded. "Love you. Be careful."**

 **Tully smiled. "Love you too and I will."**

 **She watched Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully leave the mess hall, then decided she'd better get on with morning deliveries.**

 **############################**

 **While Charley was having lunch, she got a message that Captain Boggs wanted to see her. She quickly finished eating and went to headquarters.**

 **As it turned out, the captain needed some reports taken to Major Gleason and Captain Turner. Charley went upstairs to the Major's office, dropped a stack of reports with his secretary, Margaret, who handed her some documents to deliver. Then she went down the hall and left a second stack with Turner's aide, who also had something that needed to be taken to yet another office. Three hours later, after exchanging one delivery for another, Charley ended up back at Captain Boggs' office with the last of it. His aide was away from his desk, so she knocked on the door.**

 **When she went in, Charley placed several folders on the captain's desk. "Reports from Lieutenant Miller, sir."**

 **Captain Boggs smiled. "Thank you, Miss … I mean Mrs. Pettigrew."**

 **She grinned. "Why don't you just call me Charley, sir? Everyone else does."**

" **All right, Charley." The captain held out a requisition to her. "I have one last thing for you and then you're through for the day."**

 **Charley took the form. "To the supply depot, sir?"**

" **Yes. I was going to send my aide when he returned, but since you're here…"**

" **No problem, sir."**

 **After dropping the requisition off, Charley went home. She closed and locked the door, turned on the fan, and opened the window. She looked down at the street and saw Hamza walking into the café below. She went back and checked the door, then spent the rest of the afternoon with her nose in a book before going to dinner.**

 **############################**

 **The next afternoon Charley decided to do a little cleaning to keep herself busy. She dragged the heavy braided rug out of the apartment to the top of the stairs, shook it as best she could before draping it over the railing.**

 **Charley went back inside, put clean sheets on the bed, dusted the furniture and selves, then swept the apartment and hall floors. As she swept the stairs, she noticed that several of the steps creaked loudly. "Huh, never noticed that before." Then she went back up to clean the bathroom. After that, she looked at her watch and realized that Tully would be home soon.**

 **Charley hurried out to the top of the stairs and grabbed the rug to give it one last shake before taking it inside. As she shook the heavy rug, it slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground below. She frown down at it and gave a sigh as she started down the stairs. Quite unexpectedly, about half way down, her foot went through a step. She yelped painfully as she sat down hard.**

 **Sitting there awkwardly, Charley caught her breath before trying to pull herself up. However, her boot was hung up on something under the stairs. She grabbed the railing next to her and tried again in hopes her boot would come off. She cried out as pain shot through her ankle.**

 **Charley was concentrating so hard on getting her foot loose that she didn't see Hamza come around the corner to see what had happened. He asked quietly in Arabic if she was all right.**

 **Startled, Charley turned and looked at him standing at the bottom of the stairs. For a moment she wanted to scream, but then swallowed her fear and asked him to go get Hassan.**

 **Hamza shook his head and started up the steps. If she could have run, she would have. Hamza got behind her and grabbed her under the arms and tried to lift her up.**

 **Charley cried out in pain and explained that her boot was caught. Hamza set her back on the step and went down to see if he could get her loose. He found a bent nail that would catch in her boot every time she tried to move her foot. Hamza gently pulled the boot off Charley's foot, then went back, lifted her up and carried her down the stairs. He set her on the ground and pulled her sock off and pushed her pant leg up to look for injury.**

 **That's when Tully came around the corner. All he saw was Hamza bending over his wife, who was on the ground. He grabbed the Arab and pushed him back. "What are you doing here?"**

 **Hamza scrambled to his feet. "Ёур вифе ис инюред!"**

 **Charley said, "It's all right, Tully. He was just helping me."**

 **Tully wasn't listening to her and grabbed a fistful of Hamza's thawb. "I warned you not to come around here!"**

 **Before Tully could punch Hamza, Charley grabbed a stick and hit her husband in the shin. "Let him go!"**

 **Tully yelped and backed off, letting go of the other man. "What the heck…"**

 **Now that he was loose, Hamza made a hasty retreat around the corner. Tully took a step to go after him, but Charley stopped him by shaking her stick at him and saying, "One more step and I'll aim higher!"**

 **Tully looking down at her and saw her swollen ankle. He knelt down and said, "What happened? Did he…"**

 **Charley sighed. "No, he didn't do anything except help me when I fell through that step." Tully looked up and saw the broken step. "You owe Hamza an apology."**

 **Tully sighed and looked at her. "Yeah, I guess I do. But first we need to get you to the hospital and have that ankle looked at." He helped Charley up and put an arm around her. "Can you put weight on it?"**

 **Charley put her foot on the ground and leaned on it a bit. Then she hissed with pain and started to fall. Tully caught hold of her and scooped her into his arms.**

 **############################**

 **Several hours later, Tully carried Charley home. As he rounded the corner, she reminded him, "Be careful on the stairs."**

 **Tully stopped and looked up. "I don't think that's going to be a worry."**

 **Charley followed his line of sight. The broken step had been fixed, as well as several others. She smiled and said, "Hamza."**

 **Tully started to climb the stairs and took Charley into their apartment. He put her on the bed and got the two extra pillows from the closet to prop her bandaged ankle up. Tully turned and noticed the bare floor. "Where's the rug?"**

 **Charley sighed. "That's what started this whole thing. I was shaking the rug over the railing and accidently dropped it. When I started down the stairs to get it, I fell through and got stuck. Hamza heard me yell and came to see if I was okay. He got me unstuck and pulled me out."**

 **Tully chuckled softly. "I really messed up, didn't I?"**

 **Charley smiled. "Well, our first meeting with Hamza wasn't the best way to start a friendship."**

 **Tully nodded. "Yeah. After I bring up the rug and your boot and sock, I'll go have a talk with him."**

 **############################**

 **Tully walked into the café and asked Hassan if he could help him talk to Hamza. Hassan asked, "Is everything all right?"**

 **Tully smiled slightly. "I hope so."**

 **They went into the kitchen, where Hamza was washing dishes. The poor man thought for sure that Tully was there to kill him and quickly slipped behind his brother-in-law.**

 **Tully said, "Tell him I'm sorry about this afternoon. It was a misunderstanding. Charley told me what happened and I want to thank him for helping her. Oh, and thank him for fixing the stairs too."**

 **Hassan translated, then looked at Tully. "What happened? Hamza has said nothing."**

" **Charley fell through one of the steps this afternoon. Hamza rescued her and I nearly punched him out by jumping to conclusions."**

 **Hamza stepped out from behind his brother-in-law and asked, "Ис ёур вифе алл ригхт?"**

 **Hassan said, "He wants to know if Charley is all right. As do I."**

 **Tully smiled. "Sprained ankle, some scratches and bruises. Nothing serious."**

 **Hassan translated the answer to Hamza and they both smiled. Tully stuck his hand out said the Arabic word for 'friend'. "Фриэнд?"**

 **Hamza took the offered hand and nodded. "Фриэнд."**


End file.
